Costume Designer Orry-Kelly: The Frock Flicks Guide

Orry-Kelly (1897–1964) is one of the classics of old Hollywood — he designed gowns for some 300 films between 1930 and 1963, working with actresses such as Bette Davis, Merle Oberon, Olivia de Havilland, and films such as Casablanca (1942) and The Maltese Falcon (1941). He was the main costume designer for Warner Bros. Studios from 1932 to 1944, and he won Oscars for his costumes in An American in Paris (1951), Les Girls (1957), and Some Like It Hot (1959).

With his extensive resume, of course he created more than a few historical gowns, and while they may owe more to contemporary fashion than historical research, his designs were always flattering to the actress and appealing to the eye. As Orry-Kelly said:

“I have always felt if you give a star what is most becoming, even if the style may be new to her, with tact you can usually win out. Tact, that nice clean four letter word, what an important part it plays in the life of a dress designer.”

A couple years ago, Orry-Kelly’s unpublished memoirs surfaced and became, not just a book, but the subject of a documentary by Australian filmmaker Gillian Armstrong (best-known for her 1994 adaption of Little Women). Both book and documentary are titled Women He’s Undressed, and the film is available on Netflix — totally worth watching for loads of golden-age Hollywood dish from one of the few openly gay men in Tinsel Town at the time. It’s a fascinating look at the designer, showing how Orry George Kelly left his small hometown of Kiama, Australia, first for Sydney, and then for New York in 1921. That’s where he roomed with a certain actor named Archie Leach, and the two moved to Hollywood together. Leach would become Cary Grant, while Orry-Kelly turns his art skills into costume design.

Many of Orry-Kelly’s surviving paintings have a historical feel.

There’s plenty of costume content in the documentary as well, such as Orry-Kelly commenting on Bette Davis’ bustline and fitting tricks he used to work with her specific shape. In the book, he commented a bit tartly:

“I think of Bette as a period piece, she belongs in costume clothing. Her feminine figure always looked so well in the Victorian period. Quite often her behaviour was Victorian too.”

Bette Davis shows up in quite a few of these highlights of Orry-Kelly’s historical costume work. He did Victorian, Renaissance, 18th century, and more, all with his amazing style.

About the author

A self-described ElderGoth, Trystan has been haunting the internet since the early 1990s. Always passionate about costume, from everyday office wear to outrageous twisted historical creations, she has maintained some of the earliest online costuming-focused resources on the web. Her costuming adventures are chronicled on her website, TrystanCraft. She also ran a popular fashion blog, This Is CorpGoth, dedicated to her “office drag.”

Yet again you educate me. I’ve always loved O-K’s costumes; I never knew he was from Kiama (15 mins from my family’s home town). And a huge thanks for the reference to Gillian Anderson’s film which I just watched and highly recommend not only for the story but the costume porn!

Even though costumes from classic film aren’t always completely historical, I appreciate how everything fits so well. I’m willing to forgive a lot of costume sins if the garment actually fits the actor.